Nolan Arenado hits for cycle with dramatic walk-off home run

Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado hit for the cycle in the most dramatic way possible Sunday. With his team trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth, Arenado hit a walk-off three-run homer to not only complete the cycle, but to also give the Rockies the 7-5 win.

As you can imagine, it was quite the day for the 26-year-old third baseman. Arenado kicked things off with the hardest part of the cycle, smacking a triple in the first inning. In his next at-bat, he singled.

During his third at-bat, Arenado helped put the Rockies on the board. With the team trailing 2-0 in the sixth, Arenado brought a run home on a double. That cut the lead to just one run and put Arenado a home run away from the cycle.

He got his first opportunity at the feat in the seventh inning. The Rockies rallied during the frame, taking the lead over the San Francisco Giants. Arenado stepped to the plate with two outs and all eyes on him. He struck out on four pitches.

He more than made up for that a few innings later. The Giants surged back in the top of the ninth inning, scoring three runs off Jake McGee to take a 5-3 lead. Colorado refused to go quietly, though.

DJ LeMahieu drove in a run to cut the lead to one run. With two men on and one out, Arenado again got into the batter’s box. On the first pitch, Arenado connected with a 91 mph pitch from Mark Melancon, sending it deep to left center for the walk-off three-run shot.

Arenado finished the game 4-for-5, with one run scored and 4 RBI.

With the feat, Arenado became the 308th player in Major League Baseball history to hit for the cycle. It was the fourth cycle this season. Wil Myers, Trea Turner and Carlos Gomez are the other three players to hit for the cycle in 2017.

While Arenado’s was the most dramatic of the bunch, it actually wasn’t the first time a player has hit a walk-off home run to complete a cycle. In fact, Arenado’s teammate did it as recently as 2010.

Yep, Carlos Gonzalez picked up his cycle in the same manner. On July 31, 2010, he hit a walk-off home run against the Chicago Cubs to give the Rockies the 6-5 win.

Arenado became the sixth player to hit for the cycle with a game-ending home run. Ken Boyer, Cesar Tovar, George Brett, Dwight Evans and Gonzalez were the other five.

While the cycle is a tremendous accomplishment, the most impressive part of this whole thing is that the Rockies won the game. Colorado leads the National League West with a record of 46-26. Some expected them to come into the season as a sleeper, but few expected this.

The Rockies better hope Arenado’s wonderful feats continue to lift the team to victory. If he keeps this up, he may not only earn himself an MVP award, but he may also reward his teammates with some pretty neat rings when the year is over.